<@Bastethotep> #129819
Oh no, quite a few were witches, no matter which of the three major definitions you use.
#1: A witch defined as being a believer in and practitioner of “magic”, basically as any form of non-Christian prayer and ritual. That is, anyone who practices the rituals of a non-Christian religion.
#2: A witch defined as using herbs in what was often considered a ritualistic manner (which sometimes it simply was, but more often these women actually knew something serious about herbs) as some attempt at healing. Technically under this definition any woman who suggests brewing tea with willow bark to help with a fever is a witch.
#3: Based more on how Biblical scholars today say that Exodus 22:18 is most properly translated, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”, the word translated to witch in English, in context, more likely refers to a poisoner. So, basically, a witch defined as using poisons to kill people.
All three in fact existed, and witches were most often defined by the first, though through a little bit of mental gymnastics and not really caring the least bit about anything but their own gain, a lot of powerful people wrapped all three up into it, along with a lot more women and even quite a few men who were none of the three, but rather just stood in the way of powerful people’s personal gain.